Rise of the Raptors
by Mahou Shoujo Crystalic Katomi
Summary: Of how Repton became leader and the revenge he has stern in his childhood. Rated M to be safe.


_**Rise of the Raptors**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks. However, I do own my version of an Atmosian handgun and the Raptor Shaman.

* * *

_Long before the betrayal of the Storm Hawk, most humans didn't know of Terra Bogaton. Since there weren't any nearby civilized terras near the savanna-like land, it was only come across on travels by humans. And even then, it was just as dangerous as it is now. No, there wasn't an air defense back then because the Raptors then were tribal folk, and it was because of that most people feared the terra. The Raptors had no trust in outsiders, especially humans, and thus, would kill them if they ever came near one of their own._

_But as years progressed, so did technology on Atmos. Bows and arrows became crossbows, smaller transports became bigger; the world moved forward while Bogaton still laid in tradition and superstition. There were only a few lizards that were braved enough to explore the mystery of this development that outside hunters left behind. They became the peaceful scientists of the Terradons and tried to get the rest of the Raptors to look towards the future. But the elders brushed it off, fearing the wrath of the spirits if they forget their ancestral roots. So, the fate of all reptilian humanoids was in the hands of children and most of them agreed with their parents._

_It was that day when the Raptors decided to advanced in technology… The day when Repton became their leader._

* * *

"GIVE THAT BACK! IDIOTTH!"

"HA! The Runt wants his toy back!" yelled an older Raptor as he tossed a small object over to another Raptor. Spitz wasn't having the best day of his life. Being the runt in a leader's nest was definitely not something most lizards looked upon. It meant you were going to be the weakest of the hunt. And since Spitz was said-runt, he was picked on all the time by the bigger Raptors in his terra. But that wasn't the reason why he was playing monkey in the middle with two bullies.

"Guys… Could you pretty please leave my brother alone?" said his older brother, Leugy. The youngest growled after his brother had asked that. Even though the husky one was a little bit older, it was only by a half-second. And asking nicely wasn't exactly going to help either. Being the young age of eleven is hard of a kid, especially one who was outmatched in size, strength, and how fast you can run away from danger.

The other bully looked at the sibling who came onto the scene and said, "Auuuuwwww… The other one wants to play too…" He smirked as he picked up the fat Raptor by his neck in a choke-hold. The first one smiled evilly as he grabbed the skinny brother and started to choke him also. Their victims struggled, trying to get some air.

"You guys are so weak!" their tormentors mocked, "If you weren't sons of the chief, we would have killed you instantly!" Spitz felt that stung a little; he didn't want to be the smallest. He wanted to be strong so he could go on hunts and not be picked on all the time. Suddenly, a wooden boomerang was flung at the bullies, causing them to drop the two.

"Leave my weak brothersss alone!" yelled a sinister, childish voice as everyone looked up at two more lizards, with darker scales than the tormented ones. They were also a little bit bigger and buffer than them and thus, were completely scared. They were Repton and Hoerk, the eldest sons of the Raptor chief.

As the two bullies looked at the duo, and right now, they were feeling really scared. Out of the four brothers, Repton and Hoerk were the strongest. The second oldest had the muscle and could easily break the tormentors limp by limp. But what they were most worried about was Repton; since he was the most ruthless hunter for his age, all Raptors young and old, fear of what he would do if they crossed him the wrong way. Instead of staying to find out, the intimidators ran away, yelling, "You wimps are just lucky that you're blood to Repton!"

As the younger two siblings started to stand after the bullies left, Spitz noticed the object the bullies dropped and quickly went for it. He hid it as his older brothers went to check on him and Leugy. He continued to hide it, but noticed the shadow of the eldest towering over him. While it was nice to have been saved, why did it have to be at the worst possible moment of his life?!

"Sssspitzsss…" Repton started, as the skinny lizard glared, "What are you holding?" The smaller growled, as he noticed his other brothers looking at him also. Knowing that he didn't have a choice, he opened his hand to reveal a small toy that looked like one of those skimmers the humans fly to their terra to hunt them down with. It wasn't wooden like the boomerang, but was made with spare metal parts those humans left behind after being run-off the terra. Even though rough, the toy-skimmer showed promise of flying if the bullies didn't mess with him. The eldest smiled sweetly before saying, "Ssssspitzssss…"

The youngest smiled as he didn't get what he was expecting; maybe it was only going be a good day after all. Unfortunately, he didn't see what was coming next.

"YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!!!" _Urk!_

Both Leugy and Hoerk watched as their older brother got Spitz into a headlock. For some reason, whenever the youngest tried to build something from the parts left by humans, Repton got into a really huge fit about choosing either future or tradition. The eldest would have won that argument because he was much stronger than his scrawny, little brother. Well, he would have won if it wasn't for one thing.

_Whack!_ "Repton!" … His mother.

The eldest let go of Spitz, as the other one got up and ran behind the brawny lizard. All four turned to see their mother; a tall, well-built lizard with light green scales and wearing animal skins to cover her chest and waist. She looked stern at the boys as they cowered under her stare. She was also the chief of the Raptor clan.

The Raptor sighed, before saying, "I thought I told you to not kill your brothers. You should be very glad you have three young brothers to watch over." Repton blinked, before looking over at his brothers, scoffing at this fact. They were only younger by a few seconds, which didn't give them an excuse to not fend for themselves. That and they were too pathetic to call themselves Raptors.

A second later, the mother lizard smiled and said, "Come, Repton, Hoerk. It's time for your hunting lesson." The older two perked up as they started to walk towards their mom. They loved their hunting lessons with her; it was the only time that they would really talk without being interrupted by the whining of the young. Unfortunately, Spitz was angry that his mother was going to spend more time with them than with him.

"But, mother, I want to go on the hunting letthon too." the little lizard whined, forgetting what had happen. He felt old enough to go hunting along with his older brothers. That and he wanted to spend time with his mom.

The lizard woman looked at him and sternly said, "Sorry, Spitz, but you're still too inexperience to hunt. Maybe some other time, okay?" And afterwards, their mother and older brothers left, leaving the runt and his other older, yet sensitive brother behind. The runt growled; he hated to be the youngest and was easily losing patience with not joining the hunt. Leugy, being oblivious as he was, just watched his brother stand in anger. Little did they know that it was the last time they will see their mother.

* * *

A little ways from their village, where the best prey was near, a young Hoerk was stalking an unsuspecting leaper, trying to remember what his mother taught him. In order to catch something, you have to stalk in order to know your prey and then capture it. Or was it capture then stalk? While pondering this, he didn't notice that the leaper had spotted him and was now hopping away. The reptilian took noticed of this and began to chase after it, determined to have some lunch.

Both mother and Repton watched; the latter groaning at the idiocy of his sibling. It was embarrassing to say that he was even related to his brothers. One was too dense, the other was too sensitive, and the youngest was leaning towards the very thing that the clan despised. He looked over at his mom and asked, "Tell me again, why do I have to be kind to my brotherssss?"

She looked at him with a kind, yet firm face, answering, "Because they are family, even if you consider them weak. Besides, you four are the legacy to pass down our lineage. With a big number, it makes it easier to protect one another from enemies attack."

The young raptor just huffed and looked back at his brother. 'I can protect mysssself better,' he thought, as Hoerk rammed his head into a tree while trying to chase the leaper. 'I have to if thesssse idiotssss act like thissss.' The mother lizard ran over to her second son and started to pat his head in compassion. The muscled youngling was trying his best not to cry tears in front of his mother, a sight that Repton found disgusting.

Of course, he did wonder why his mother was much kinder than usually Raptor moms. Perhaps it was the fact that he and his siblings were the last of his father's blood. On the day of their hatching, a group of human hunters came onto their terra, probably looking for some gain. In order to protect the entire tribe along with their in-bed mother, the leader lead the hunters away from their village and then slain every one of them. It was only when the last hunter killed the creature before he died as well, thus letting his kin be born in peace and making his mother into the current Raptor leader. A big triumph from such a bigger lost.

Suddenly, everything went silent as the female raptor turned towards west, where the winds from that unspeakable terra came from. It had a strange smell to it; almost like hers, almost like a human's, but there was something off about it. Looking back to her children, she instructed, "You two go back to the village. I need to check out what is wrong."

Before they could say a word, she quickly left towards the source. They both stared out, watching their mother's retreating form. Repton just clenched his fists, angry that his mother wouldn't let him go with her. It was important stage in a child's life to see how their parents live and how to take hold of their responsibilities in the future. Without a second thought, he turned to his brother and ordered, "You go get the sssshaman. I'll go after mother."

Due to the childish behavior in his youth, Hoerk just stated, "You're going to get in trouble." Frankly, Repton didn't care; his curiosity was more important that some punishment from his mother. Afterwards, the second-oldest started to head towards the hut where Mee lived, while the eldest headed off in the direction of where the wind came from. Along the way, he felt a strange presence from the wind; something… horrible.

* * *

Once coming into a good hiding place, Repton spied on his mother, who was spying on a strange creature. The creature was human-like in appearance especially his black-dread locks from his mostly bald head, but had feet like they did. His skin was light brownish skin with some lighter underskin to it. It had three fingers on his left hand and a metallic claw to replace his right. His clothes looked of that of a robber, especially with the skull-like symbol on his back. Whoever he was, it meant trouble for the entire terra.

It also seemed he was talking into a strange box as he spoke, "Yea, I'm on that terra those hunters were speaking of. Yes, I don't see any of the locals around, but I bet they now notice my presence here…" After some garble reply from his box, he said, "Well, didn't ya hear me the first time? I'm going to claim this terra!" There was more garble speak. "Oh, if the locals refuse our hospitality, we'll send our strongest ships here and massacre every man, woman, and children on this place!" That definitely caught the two lizard's attention. The chief snarled with rage; she wasn't going to let her people die from some pirates.

Once putting the strange box away, he turned toward the bushes, showing that his face looked inhuman, with his left eye scarred and gone. The raptors quickly hid, not wanting to get spotted by this devious creature. However, that didn't stop his suspicions. "Come out, whoever and wherever you are," he taunted with a sharp-toothed grin. "I know there is someone out there. Do you think I was joking about that massacre stuff? Perhaps I should just ignore you and start killing your people right now."

Suddenly, the mother Raptor leapt out of her hiding place and swung her crystal-tipped spear at the pirate, who quickly blocked it with his own weapon. Still smirking, he taunted, "Finally, a challenge!" And next, he swung his blade at his opponent. She dodged, thankfully, and went back onto the offensive, only to be blocked again. She had never faced a foe like this before; he must be a great leader to face her on even ground.

Repton secretly watched as his mother fought against this strange creature. He never realized how strong she was before. Well, she was chosen to be leader of the clan, and the basis of choosing the leader was relation, age, and strength. The candidate must have some relationship to the previous leader, whether it is by blood or marriage, they had to be at a right age in order to be proclaimed leader like in the teens, and if they are challenge by another member of the clan, then they must face the objector to a fight for power. His mother had met the requirements and was not confronted by anyone in the tribe, giving her right to be leader.

The pirate smirked at her strength and commented, "You must be a stubborn one, eh? I bet it's a real difficulty for your husband in bed." Blushing in fury, she quickly jumped back from her foe, before getting hit by his slash. She glanced over at her bleeding shoulder, and then back at him, who still had that sick smile across his face. He wasn't going to give up so easily; she might as well kill him here and now.

Then, she started to glow yellow, focusing her energy into the crystal on her spear. It started to glow as well, creating an aura around both weapon and user. The creature became a little shocked by this display, even more so when she started to head towards him. The only thing he could do was blocked it with his robotic hand, feeling the force of the attack and losing his sword in the process.

The might of the assault made his arm go haywire and shut down. Realizing that he was now outgunned, the pirate realized that he had one option left, particularly since his opponent was going back into another charge stance. Hastily, he quickly reached into his vest, not wanting to waste a second of his time. The lizard started to charge at him, before he quickly took a strange tool and taking aim at his charging enemy.

_Bang!_

The raptor stopped and looked down at her chest, which had started to bleed from the heart area. Repton gasped as another shot was hear and his mother collapsed with a hole in her head. The man stood over her, breathing deeply over her lifeless corpse. He was savoring his victory until he heard his communicator buzzing.

The young lizard continued to watch as the man began to speak into his strange box. "Yes, Eyeball, I'm fine. I got attacked by one of the locals; must have overheard me." The garble was heard again after that statement. "Nah, let them have this terra for now. The Murk Raiders can do without another outpost for a while… I found a better prize at the moment." He went back over to his weapon, grabbed it, and turned to the body with a wicked smile on his face.

Repton quickly turned away as the pirate began the skinning of his mother. It was disgusting; a man tearing off the skin of his protector, his once-living guardian. He tried to hold back the tears, an emotion to show his helplessness against trying to save his mother from such a fate. Once hearing the roars of an engine, he quickly turned to see the creature leaving on his skimmer and a pile of unskinned flesh, the mound that was once his mother.

Carefully, the raptor started to approach the body before getting the courage to come near it. He sat down next to it and stared at it. It was strange; this corpse was once his mother and was now nothing but rotting tissue, but he didn't feel disgusted while staring at it. The only thing he did felt was sadness, anger, and resent. That pirate, that monster, he was going to feel the full fury of his wrath.

After a few moments of peace, the lizard wrapped the body with the skins that were made for carrying the hunt, grabbed it and started to drag it back to the village. It was going to be a long night for him and his kin.

* * *

"Repton!" yelled Hoerk, as the second-eldest came up running to his brother, "Mee… Mee's gone! I checked her house; she wasn't there!" The oldest just looked away from his brother, not wanting to see the sadness in his eyes. The muscled raptor blinked and asked, "Hey, why are not looking at me? … And what are you carrying-!" He soon saw part of the corpse sticking out of the wrap and instantly felt sick. Who could have done such a thing? It couldn't have been Repton because their mother would always beat him in a fight.

Hoerk was about to cry until his older brother punched him in the face. He stared at him with complete shock before the eldest spoke out, "Don't you sssstart ssssniveling in front of me!" He suddenly looked down with a scowl on his face. "Even if the sssshaman could resurrect her, it wouldn't be the ssssame… That creature… That Murk Raider wasss neither human nor monssster if he could take her sssscalessss like that. He hasss ssssomething much more powerful than our toolssss here. Sssso… I will make thissss tribe will now become part of thissss modern Atmossss now!"

The strong lizard just stared, before asking, "But aren't you supposed to be leader first?" Repton just glared over as his kin suddenly froze with fear. His brother still didn't seem to get it.

"I will be leader. I am at the right age now and no one will dare challenge me." he simply answered, giving a dark look upon his face. Then, he grabbed Hoerk by the collar and lifted him to his face. "Now, you must not tell Sssspitzsss, Leugy, or another else about how mother died. Ssssptizsss will try to get hissss own revenge and everyone elsssse will just go leak out what had actually happen. And, my plan doessssn't involved the little runt dying off too ssssoon." It was strange; the eldest wouldn't have care what would have happen to his youngest brother, but he sounded really serious about it. The muscled raptor just quickly nodded, not wanting to be impaired. Repton growled before dropping his kin and going back to dragging the corpse. Hoerk just stared in complete confusion; his mind was trying to figure out why the eldest didn't kill him.

Maybe it was because his brother was capable of emotions after all… Either that or he had other thingson his mind.

* * *

That night, the whole tribe gathered around the burning of the previous Raptor leader. Everyone there watched in sadness as one of their great leaders smolder in the blazing flames. Her children were also in a state of depression, especially Spitz who had never really spend time with her. The only one who wasn't at the ceremony was Repton.

He was sitting on a distance rock, staring at his hand and thinking of a plan. His first step of becoming leader was pretty easy; the next steps were making allies and getting the technology to be on the level of that creature. The Terradon scientists will help the technology, but maybe these humans called the Cyclonians could help him even more. The Raptor had heard that those human had much more power and resources than the other terras in this world. Yes, he and the rest of the Raptors would become mercenaries and join with the Cyclonians in hopes that their trading would be… Worthwhile.

Soon, he will have the strength to defeat that pirate… Soon, his mother will be at peace in her death. But for now, Repton will just let the flames in his heart burn.

* * *

Two years… Almost two freaking, long years since I started this. And now, it is finally done… I'm going to lie down now.

Yes, this is my interpretation of how Repton became leader. Yes, it has gore. That's why I put on the M-rating. This is probably one of the more serious pieces I written. If any of you out there felt disgusted, please head to your nearest bathroom.

Also, you may have notice that this may be related to my Gaia series. For those who have read Chap. 9 of _**Between Earth and Air**_, this is the reason why Repton went berserk on that Murk Raider. Like I said before, this is an interpretation, so this probably did not happen.

Anyway, Please Read and Review!


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